Head Ball Coach: My Life in Football, Doing It Differently--and Winning

by Steve Spurrier, Buddy Martin

Overview

Now in paperback with a new afterword, the New York Times bestseller by college football's most colorful, endearing, and successful pioneer, Steve Spurrier, in which he shares his story of a life in football—from growing up in Tennessee to winning the Heisman Trophy to playing and coaching in the pros to leading the Florida Gators to six SEC Championships and a National Championship to elevating the South Carolina program to new heights—and coaching like nobody else.

He's been called brash, cocky, arrogant, pompous, egotistical, and hilarious, but mostly he's known as the Head Ball Coach, a self-ordained term introduced to the lexicon of football by none other than the man himself, Steve Spurrier. He is the only coach who can claim to be the winningest coach at two different SEC schools and the only person who has won both the Heisman Trophy as a player and a National Championship as a coach. Or who has won a Heisman and coached a Heisman winner.

From the beginning, Spurrier didn't want to sound like other coaches, dress like other coaches, and, especially, coach like other coaches. As a controversial football pioneer, he ushered in a different style of leadership and play. Spurrier's press conferences were glorious—he refused to lapse into coachspeak and was always entertaining, although he took his football very seriously. He was known for his fierce competitiveness, roaming up and down the sidelines, often throwing his signature visor to the ground in disgust.

In his memoir, Spurrier talks for the first time about the circumstances under which he unexpectedly became a coach and why he resigned at South Carolina. He explains his unique style, the difference between winners and losers, his relationship with the media, why he follows the wisdom of ancient philosophers and warriors, his affinity for everything taught by John Wooden, and the reasons behind his relaxed regimen for living well. Spurrier, as always, speaks candidly, bringing together his thoughts about his words, actions, and achievements, while telling countless wonderful anecdotes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399574672
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,151,609
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Steve Spurrier is a former football coach and player. He played at the University of Florida, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1966. Spurrier played in the NFL for ten years, and then worked as an assistant coach before becoming head coach of the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits in 1983. He went on to coach at Duke University, and then Florida, where he led the Gators to six SEC Championships as well as a National Championship in 1996. He coached the Washington Redskins from 2002 to 2003, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks from 2005 to 2015. He was named SEC Coach of the Year seven times. He is now an ambassador and consultant for the University of Florida's athletic department.

Buddy Martin is columnist for GridironNow.com and SouthernPigskin.com, the host for Southern Pigskin Radio Network, an Emmy-winning network TV journalist and won numerous awards as sports editor/columnist of three major newspapers. He is the anchor of Buddy Martin’s Sports Page on his hometown station, WOCA in Ocala/North Central Florida. This is his seventh book.

Table of Contents

Foreword Paul Finebaum xv

Author's Note xix

Chapter 1 A Good Day to Fire Myself 1

Chapter 2 Giving Power to Circumstances 13

Chapter 3 Underneath the Visor 21

Chapter 4 Winners and Losers 30

Chapter 5 Florida Born, Tennessee Raised 42

Chapter 6 Johnson City Dreams 51

Chapter 7 Becoming a Gator 68

Chapter 8 My NFL Playing Days 87

Chapter 9 Next Stops: Georgia Tech and Duke 101

Chapter 10 Becoming the HBC in the USFL 113

Chapter 11 The Return to Durham 125

Chapter 12 The Job I Never Thought Would Be Open 145

Chapter 13 The Gators of 95 and '96 170

Chapter 14 Gridlock in Washington: Walking Away From Big Money 198

Chapter 15 The South Carolina Years 208

Chapter 16 How and Why I Coach the Way I Do 224

Chapter 17 Doing Things the Right Way 242

Chapter 18 The Coach, and Those I Have Known 263

Chapter 19 Things I Probably Said 272

Chapter 20 Jerri: My Head Ball Coach 277

Acknowledgments 295

Appendix 297

Editorial Reviews

"Spurrier’s upbeat personality shines in this uplifting book that will appeal to anyone interested in college football." —Library Journal

"The decorated football player and coach offers an overview of his upbringing and remarkable career.... plenty to chew on for fans of college football, especially the SEC." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

10/15/2016
College Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy-winning player Spurrier had an even greater career as a coach, taking perennial losing teams such as Duke and South Carolina to Super Bowl games and winning a national championship at the University of Florida. As the author tells it in this amiable autobiography, coauthored with sports journalist Martin, he's led a charmed life filled with success both professionally (a college coaching record of 228–89–2) and personally (a happy 50-year marriage with four children and several grandchildren). Written in a folksy style befitting a man who dubbed himself the "Head Ball Coach," this account is actually Spurrier's second book after 1968's It's Always Too Soon To Quit following his rookie season in the NFL. This time, Spurrier has much more to impart as he surveys his life and career. Emphasizing his Christian beliefs, he continually speaks of his coaching philosophy and keys to winning: discipline, persistence, faith, and enthusiasm. VERDICT Spurrier's upbeat personality shines in this uplifting book that will appeal to anyone interested in college football.—John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ

Library Journal